hirty hours of intensive running, mountain biking
and canoeing through the wilderness with only a topographical map and a compass as a guide — this is
what the newly formed Texas A&M adventure racing team
lives for.
Started this August, the organization already has a national
championship to its name.
Jason Fenton, senior rangeland ecology and management
major and captain of the adventure racing team, led his team of
three to victory on Oct. 5 in the collegiate heat of the United
States Adventure Racing Association national championship in
Nashville, Ind., competing against 55 teams.
“The national championship race was 30 hours,” Fenton
said. “They give you the easting and the northing points for
36 points. Then you have this topographic map, this massive
See Adventure racing on page 2

Jenna Rabel — THE BATTALION

I mean, the race is tough, and it
is not even necessarily that fun
because it is so difficult, but it is just
that grueling aspect and that love of
adventure and perseverance and hard work
in competition that I like.”

he aftermath of Sunday’s powerful storm left its mark with
water damage that has put several classrooms out of commission. The YMCA and Blocker Building each took a hit from
the flooding, leading to the cancellation of classes.
Due to the architectural structure of these buildings and the
amount of rain that hit Bryan-College Station over the weekend,
flooding damage was nearly inevitable.
“We have had several issues over the last couple of years,” said
Andy Armstrong, director of advising for the College of Liberal
Arts. “The way the building is angled, the north side of Blocker
gets hit the worst, and the YMCA [Building] has a ramp leading
to the bottom that has caused a lot of water build up.”
In the YMCA Building, Armstrong said the flood affected three classrooms and one computer lab, and efforts
are currently being made in order to recuperate from the
storm’s damage.
“The YMCA Building is expected to be out of commission
throughout Tuesday,” Armstrong said. “They have several fans
going on in each room and are using de-humidifiers to try to get
rid of the musty smell.”
Armstrong said SERVPRO, the company working on the
restoration in Blocker, has asked for full access to the first floor
all day on both Tuesday and Wednesday. Due to these requests,
classes in the first floor of the building will be cancelled Tuesday
and potentially Wednesday. Blocker is expected to be reopened
Thursday.
Custodial supervisor Francisca Martinez said much of the car-

pet in the Blocker building classrooms was damaged, and the
elevators were also damaged by the water.
“Since I’ve been here, this is the worst rain damage I’ve ever
seen [on campus],” Martinez said.
Rachel Kaplan, freshman general studies major, said while she
will enjoy the break from her political science class in Blocker,
the heavy catching up her class will have to do when it resumes
will be an inconvenience.
“With the way my schedule conflicts with the cancellations
in Blocker, I’ll only be attending class once this week,” Kaplan
said. “I didn’t realize how badly the storm affected our campus.”

Photos by Jenna Rabel — THE BATTALION

Many classes are cancelled after the flooding in the
Blocker Building due to the weekend storm. Drying
tubes and fans have been set up through the hallways
and classrooms in order to dry the interior.

campus news

university press

Churchill’s granddaughter to come to A&M
Jennifer Reiley
The Battalion

S

ir Winston Churchill — soldier, historian,
writer, politician — is considered by many
to be one of the greatest wartime leaders of
the 20th century. His granddaughter, Celia
Sandys, will visit A&M on Oct. 25 to share
her story of life with her grandfather.
Sandys has published five books on the former British prime minister’s life and leadership
in the 20th century. The event will be held at
10:30 a.m. in Rudder Auditorium and sponsored by the Texas A&M University Press.
Charles Backus, press director for the Texas
A&M University Press, said the event is coming to A&M because University Press is reprinting paperback editions of two of Sandys’
books that have been out of print.
See Churchill on page 5

COURTESY

Celia Sandys, who is featured in the above photo next to her grandfather Winston
Churchill, will speak at A&M about life with the former prime minister.

n 1963, women gained admittance to Texas
A&M. In honor of the 50 years of inclusion, the Women’s Former Student Network
will hold a leadership conference on Thursday,
which will conclude with a concert at 8 p.m. in
Rudder Theatre.
The performance will feature Grammy win-

BAT_10-15-13_A1.indd 1

ner Bonnie Bishop and her band, “The Modern
Day Prophets.” Bishop is the stepdaughter of
Jackie Sherrill, former A&M athletic director
and head football coach.
Bishop said because she spent time at the
University and connected with some of the
football players when she was younger, she has
always loved Texas A&M football and the University itself.
“I’m all about empowering women to do
their best,” Bishop said. “I think being a part of
an event where we are celebrating the woman’s
journey to be a part of education and be a part

of a great university like A&M just sounded like
something I really wanted to be a part of.”
After touring with her band from 2002 to
2008 throughout Texas, Bishop took a solo
break and took a music-writing gig in Nashville, Tenn. Bishop said she began to get back
with the band after she released her most recent
album in the spring.
“That’s what I love to do more than anything — play with the band,” Bishop said. “I’m
pumped that we are getting to do this around
See Bishop on page 5

Student injured in
motorcycle accident
Sophomore University Studies major
Caleb Tate suffered incapacitating
injuries after a collision at Texas
Ave and SW Parkway E that stopped
traffic Monday afternoon. According
to a College Station police report,
the collision occurred between
a southbound Chrysler Sebring
convertible with two passengers on
board and Tate who was northbound
on motorcycle. According to the
same report, witnesses said the
Sebring turned directly in front of the
motorcycle, causing the motorcycle to
hit the Sebring and throwing Tate from
the motorcycle.

inside
music | 4
A cappella
offscreen
An all-female a capella group, discuss
the way popular culture have launched
their popularity on campus.

music | 6
Battle of the Bands
Five bands made partly of A&M
students will compete Friday in the
Battle of the Bands.

to todays puzzles
“I always ask myself, ‘Should I study harder or just stick to
what I’ve been doing?’ But from what I’ve seen I’m like, ‘Yeah,
Tabatha, give a little more push to it so that I can get to the
level I want.’”

“I’m going to try to play fewer video
games and spend more time in the
library.”
Dillon Keller, sophomore Blinn Team student

Tabatha Broussard, senior sports management major

If You Have Something To Sell,
Remember Classifieds Can Do It!
Call 845-0569

the battalion

“I just need to manage my time
a little better. But I didn’t do
too badly. I’ve been doing this
for three years now, so I kind of
know what I’m doing.”

“I need to prioritize and study
more ahead instead of waiting
until a few days before. I’m also
trying different ways to study.
Flashcards are super helpful.”

David Hersh, senior chemistry major

Chandler Due, sophomore
allied health major

“I started changing my study habits by going to populated
places like the MSC instead of staying in my dorm where I
would tend to procrastinate.”

“I will probably pretty much
keep doing what I’m doing.
Some of my classes that are
history-based could use some
more work.”
Marissa Swenk, sophomore
Blinn Team student

“That’s just reading the textbooks,
reading the notes, looking through
everything before the tests and making
sure I have a good night’s sleep.”
Trevor Geisler, senior computer science major

Marisa Fuentes, freshman general studies major

Photo feature by Bryan Johnson — THE BATTALION

Adventure racing
Continued from page 1

thing, and we’ll plot all these points —
hopefully they’re right because after you
plot them you have to go find them.”
The three members didn’t prepare
much for nationals because it was a spurof-the-moment decision, said Scott Bixler, senior biomedical engineering major
and adventure racer.
“We had just gotten off of a backpacking trip together in Colorado,” Bixler
said. “On our trip to Colorado, we used a
topographical map, so that was pretty good
training and built the teamwork and communication skills necessary [for the race].”
Along with the topographic map,
learning coordinates and how to read a
compass is vital for navigating an adventure racing course.
“The way we go about it now, basically
for outdoor training, the biggest thing is
the compass,” said James Meersman, accounting graduate student. “It is kind of
similar to the physical training, that’s the
most important part.”
Each section of the course is categorized, Fenton said. Every race consists of a
mountain biking section, a canoeing section and a trail run or hike.
“The three things you do are mountain
biking, and then hiking on foot or trail running — whatever you want to do — and
then canoeing,” Fenton said. “You have
to be with your team, you can’t just go do
your own thing and then meet back up.”
The race requires stamina, endurance
and a love of adventure that Fenton, Bix-

ler and Meersman said they all possess.
“I have always been an outdoor enthusiast and an adventure junkie, so to speak,”
Bixler said. “The same thing with Jason
[Fenton] and James [Meersman]. James
[Meersman] does Ironmans and triathlons
and Jason [Fenton] is also kind of into that
stuff.”
For nationals, each participant had to
bring his or her own gear — mountain
bikes, food and water — in order to compete. Theoretically, if every point plotted
on the map is reached, the race is 100
miles of backwoods trekking. With no
sleep, the racers were working against the
elements and the clock.
“Whoever has the most points wins,”
Fenton said. “For every minute you finish over the 30-hour cutoff, they remove
a point. Obviously, if you get lost or you
are in the dark, it takes longer. If you are
slow but you get all your points it is better
than if you are fast and get burnt out. It
is more of an endurance kind of thing.”
The mentality required for an adventure racer meshes a love of competition
and adventure, Bixler said.
“I have done a lot of extensive backpacking and wilderness trips in the United
States and so we found out about this opportunity and happened to have a really
good contact, so they wanted us to come
race to promote the sport more and spread
it into the college realm,” Bixler said.
After winning their division, the team
members said they were exhausted but excited about their success.
“There were teams that didn’t even
finish, so we felt really good about being able to get up there,” Fenton said. “It

was our first time at nationals and no one
died.”
Fenton said he is trying to gain attention on campus by promoting adventure
racing.
“We are not a club, because it takes
two years to become a club, but we are
an official organization gearing up toward
being a club,” Fenton said.
The United States Adventure Racing
Association is based in Austin, but Fenton
said it is still under the radar, especially in
College Station.
“No one really knows about adventure racing in Texas,” Fenton said. “We
want more people to get involved for next
year.”
Meersman said the most challenging aspect of self-promotion the team has faced
is competing with multiple clubs that focus on triathletes and trail runners.
The organization is open to anyone
interested in outdoor sports and the team
hopes to gain men and women interested
in competing.
Although the race and the competition
are important, Bixler said what he loves
most about adventure racing is being out
in nature, pushed to his limits.
“My favorite part is mixing the aspect
of nature and getting down to the natural
element and meshing that with pure perseverance and that dig-deep kind of mentality you have to have,” Bixler said. “I
mean, the race is tough, and it is not even
necessarily that fun because it is so difficult, but it is just that grueling aspect and
that love of adventure and perseverance
and hard work in competition that I like.”

Jake Walker, Editor in Chief
The BaTTalion is published daily, Monday through Friday during the fall and spring
semesters and Tuesday and Thursday during the summer session (except University
holidays and exam periods) at Texas A&M University, College Station, TX 77843. Offices
are in Suite L400 of the Memorial Student Center.
News: The Battalion news department is managed by students at Texas A&M University
in Student Media, a unit of the Division of Student Affairs. Newsroom phone: 979-845-3315;
E-mail: editor@thebatt.com; website: http://www.thebatt.com.
Advertising: Publication of advertising does not imply sponsorship or endorsement by
The Battalion. For campus, local, and national display advertising, call 979-845-2687.
For classified advertising, call 979-845-0569. Office hours are 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday
through Friday. Email: battads@thebatt.com.
Subscriptions: A part of the Student Services Fee entitles each Texas A&M student to pick
up a single copy of The Battalion. First copy free, additional copies $1.

BAT_10-15-13_A2.indd 1

1805 Briarcrest Drive in Bryan
Across from Bryan High
Doors Open At 5:00 pm, 7 Days A Week
(979)776-0999
www.brazosbingo.com
Brazos Bingo supports the following charities:
Brazos Valley Elks Lodge #859, Brazos Valley Council on Alcohol and
Substance Abuse, St. Joseph Catholic Church
St. Joseph Catholic School and Bubba Moore Memorial Group, Inc.

Drowned Dignity
Jessica Smarr: The beer’s gone, but
the pitcher is full of shame

T

here are, at the very least, two incredibly stupid people in the world.

The first one is that guy who looked
around at his buddies after receiving his Aggie ring and said, “You know what I want
to do with this symbol of academic achievement? I want to put it in a giant pitcher of
beer, chug it and vomit all over a smelly ol’
bathroom stall.”
Do you know what I said to that? I said,
“Oh, that sounds like a lovely idea! How
charming! How delightful!”
Which makes me the second stupid
person.
To be fair to the first nameless idiot, I’m
probably the dumbest member of this pair.
There’s a rumor floating around that ring
dunks actually originated when soldiers
would dunk their medals in beer, a tradition
that would transition well to a campus with a
strong military and alcohol presence.
I can bet you most of these soldiers probably weighed more than 115 pounds and
could reach the top shelf of their kitchen
cabinets without having to stand on their
tiptoes. Chugging five beers may be a big
deal for a strapping young lad, but it’s a guaranteed puke fest for a girl who sometimes
has a hard time getting automatic doors to

register her presence.
As I was spewing my dignity into the
thick grass between gulps of beer, I had a
miserable, undignified realization. Even after
I have had an adequate amount of time to
process my actions, it still stands true — I am
a disappointment to my parents.
Some will say I did it all for the love
of tradition, but it’s time for me to come
clean about that. I’ve already told you how
much I weigh, so I’m going to let you in on
another secret — if there was a club for twopercenters, I would be president. That is, of
course, if I actually cared enough to show up
to meetings.
I have never put a penny on Sully and I
feel like a dirty hippie fraud every time I try
to start one of those extra peppy emails with
“Howdy!” I have accepted that I will never
be able to get “Chig-gar-roo-gar-rem” out
correctly. I honestly don’t even remember
the last time I sang the War Hymn. So why
did I decide the one tradition worth upholding was the one that involved upchucking?
In case you haven’t gathered, I threw up
quite a bit.
And if you think it had to be the peer

Thanks to the Corps!

On behalf of the Texas A&M soccer team, we
would like to give a special thank you to all the
members of the Corps of Cadets that were an
integral part in our victory against Arkansas
last Friday night. Thank y’all so very much,
especially for staying to the very end and
showing what it truly means to be the Home of
the 12th Man. It is Aggies like these who make
playing in Aggieland on a Friday night one of a
kind. Again, thank you.

EDITOR’SNOTE
The opinions, beliefs and viewpoints expressed by the various
authors and forum participants in this paper do not necessarily
reflect those of Texas A&M University, The Battalion or its staff.

MAILCALL GUESTCOLUMNS

Make your opinion known by submitting Mail Call or guest
columns to The Battalion. Mail call must be fewer than 200
words and include the author’s name, classification, major and
phone number. Staff and faculty must include title. Guest columns
must be fewer than 500 words. All submissions should focus
on issues not personalities, become property of The Battalion
and are subject to editing for style, clarity and space concerns.
Anonymous letters will be read, but not printed. The Battalion will
print only one letter per author per month. No mail call will appear
in The Battalion’s print or online editions before it is verified.
Direct all correspondence to:
Editor in chief of The Battalion
(979) 845-3315 | mailcall@thebatt.com

pressure that set me guzzling and gagging,
you can just stop right there. I am physically incapable of jumping on bandwagons. I
think it is because I am so uncoordinated.
According to the University’s Alcohol
and Drug Education Program, if someone of
my size would have kept that alcohol down,
their coordination and judgment would have
been somewhere between “very impaired”
and “extremely impaired.”
This is not okay, considering my natural
sober state lies somewhere between “plain
old regular impaired” and “that’s right, she
fell down both flights of stairs.” Put a pitcher
of beer in me and I’m lying somewhere
above the “newly hatched turtle who is
missing a leg and a half” line.
I purposely risked discomfort and alcohol
poisoning and awkward Monday-morning
eye contact. Why? Does the tradition really
have a hold on me, or I have truly become

one of those after-school special tragedies?
What possessed me to make that fateful decision, I’ll never know.
Of course, maybe my life choices weren’t
the problem. It could just be the execution
I’m truly ashamed of. After all, it took me a
solid 12 minutes of pain and agony to finish
that pitcher of beer.
It’s one thing to be ashamed of doing
something stupid. It’s another thing entirely
to do that stupid thing poorly.
I just hope I can live with myself.
Jessica Smarr is a senior
psychology major and copy
chief.

he question has come up recently about changing traditions on campus. Traditions are near and dear to the identity of Texas A&M, and
found in the heart of every Aggie.

As the University has
included non-regs, blacks
and women and has grown
from a small agricultural and
mechanical school to a campus of 53,000 students, our
traditions have morphed to
keep pace with the growth
of the University.
One example is the
development of yells and
wildcats. Many believe
that the class wildcats were
created in the same period
that the yell leader tradition
came into being. However,
distinct wildcats for each
class are relatively new —
no more than 50 years old.
As can be seen in historical
photos at Cushing Memorial
Library and as corroborated
by former yell leader Hayes
Stripling ’46, every student,
regardless of academic classification, performed the same
wildcat, similar to today’s
freshman wildcat, until at

aggieland 2014

least the early 1960s.
Perhaps most shocking to
current students is the fact,
corroborated by yell leader
Ted Lowe ’58, that the
whoop did not enter the official Aggie lexicon until the
1960s. Without a “whoop,”
you simply cannot have the
junior and senior wildcats
of today. In fact, separate
wildcats did not evolve until
the 1980s, but the graduate student population was
perhaps not large enough, or
involved enough, to warrant
a separate wildcat. However,
times have changed at Texas
A&M. Today, our graduate population is a full 20
percent of the student body,
equal in size to every other
class. If each class earns the
privilege of using a new
wildcat as they advance in
academic status, why should
the graduate students be
kept in a perpetual state of

senior year? Why wouldn’t
they also be afforded the
acknowledgement of taking
the next step in their education? A singular wildcat
for all graduate and professional students is the logical
outcome.
As we celebrate 50 years
of inclusion of other races
and women, we as graduate students also wish to be
included. Some 40 years ago
we were still fighting a battle
to include non-regs and
women in the yell tradition,
sometimes with violent and
rude results. Why not learn
from the past and work to
include all Aggies in participation in our traditions in a
productive manner?
The Graduate Student
Council passed a resolution
to create a distinct wildcat
to join with the undergrads
in the proud tradition of expressing class pride. We are

not attempting to fracture
the student body by creating
a separate wildcat for every
affinity group, as some have
suggested. Instead, we are
instilling a sense of Aggie
pride and identity in members of an academic classification that is equal in size to
the other four.
Perhaps one of our greatest traditions is that we adapt
and move forward. Former
yell leader Ted Lowe ’58,
when asked if he felt less
connected to Aggies today
because we now whoop and
he didn’t, replied, “Here’s a
phrase that you young ones
need to know and remember: Change or die. The
world is changing and we
have to hold on to our traditions, but make changes with
it. What’s important is, does
it support the Aggie team?”
Brittany Bounds
is a history
graduate student
and president
of the Graduate
Student Council

aggieland 2014

dec. ’13 Graduating

SENIORS
and

GRAdUATE STUdENTS

TIME’S RUNNING OUT to have your
portrait made for Texas A&M’s 112th
yearbook and have pictures for your
graduation announcements. This week,
just walk in to the Student Media office,
Suite L400 of the MSC, 10 a.m – 4:30 p.m.
Monday – Thursday. Or, for appointment
email arphototamu@gmail.com or
call 979.846.9690. ALL STUdENTS —
juniors, sophomores and freshmen —
have your portraits made for the 2014
Aggieland yearbook. Portrait sitting is
free. It’s your yearbook. Be in it.

BAT_10-15-13_A3.indd 1

Save $10

by pre-ordering (if you haven’t) the
2014 Aggieland yearbook. Price is
$81.19 (including shipping & sales tax).
Go to http://aggieland.tamu.edu or call
979.845.2696 to order by credit card.
Or drop by the Student Media office,
Suite L400 in the MSC, 8:30 a.m.– 4:30 p.m.

10/14/13 10:07 PM

\

lifestyles

page 4

Better clinic.

tuesday 10.15.2013

thebattalion

Better medicine.
Better world.

Members of
Femmatas,
an all-female
campus
a capella
group, practice
during a group
meeting.

Everybody counts on having safe,
effective medicine for anything from
the common cold to heart disease. But
making sure medications are safe is a
complex and careful process.
At PPD, we count on healthy volunteers
to help evaluate medications being
developed â&#x20AC;&#x201C; maybe like you. You must
meet certain requirements to qualify,
including a free medical exam and
screening tests. We have research
studies available in many different
lengths, and youâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ll ďŹ nd current studies
listed here weekly.

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Aca-awesome

A capella media portrayals alter image of
all-female singing group

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studies in Austin for more than 25 years.
Call today to ďŹ nd out more.

y now the picture is recognizable to many â&#x20AC;&#x201D; a
small group of people stand on
a stage under a spotlight and
make music with no instruments whatsoever.
This is the modern interpretation of a capella. Media portrayals on shows like
ABCâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s â&#x20AC;&#x153;Glee,â&#x20AC;? NBCâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s â&#x20AC;&#x153;The
Sing Off,â&#x20AC;? and movies such as
2012â&#x20AC;&#x2122;s â&#x20AC;&#x153;Pitch Perfect,â&#x20AC;? have
changed the a capella landscape for at least one campus
group.
Texas A&Mâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Femmatas,
an all-female a capella group,
believes the increased interest
in a capella music stems from
the way a capella groups offer unadulterated talent mixed
with familiar songs.
â&#x20AC;&#x153;With the media you have
now, you get to hear someoneâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s raw voice and you know
it hasnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t been completely altered, and I think people are
craving that kind of raw talent,â&#x20AC;? said Mary Milius, junior
sociology major and Femmatas musical director. â&#x20AC;&#x153;And a
capella brings that. Itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s stripped
down to everyoneâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s voices,
and I think thatâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s what people
want to hear.â&#x20AC;?
Sabrina Vogel, senior English major and group performance manager, said popular
a capella has existed in many
forms across the years, but
since the days of barbershop
quartets the discipline has
faded a little, and the revival
trend has taken some people
by surprise. She said audiences
sometimes do not expect the

sound that comes across when
the Femmatas remix popular
songs with only their voices.
â&#x20AC;&#x153;[Older audiences are] not
always quite as in tune with
the modern a capella thatâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s
happening,â&#x20AC;? Vogel said. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s
fun to watch their faces just
light up.â&#x20AC;?
The Femmatas said depictions of a capella in the media
are often true to life.
â&#x20AC;&#x153;We went to see â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;Pitch
Perfectâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; together, and a lot of
the personalities and things
that they say are very accurate,â&#x20AC;? said Melina Sitaras, junior allied health major and
Femmatas president. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Exaggerated, of course, but pretty
accurate.â&#x20AC;?
However, producing the
music takes more work than
is sometimes shown in the
movies.
â&#x20AC;&#x153;We do have a lot of fun
singing, and thatâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s the biggest
part of a capella,â&#x20AC;? Milius said.
â&#x20AC;&#x153;Everyone can see how fun it
is. We do beat box, and we do
arrange everything ourselves.
But you know that scene in
â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;Pitch Perfectâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; where they
make it up on the spot? That
is not something that we do.â&#x20AC;?
Sitaras said arranging pieces
can take hours of work.
â&#x20AC;&#x153;Every show makes it seem
like they make it up, and itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s a
lot more than that,â&#x20AC;? Sitaras said.
Arranging music is a skill
the girls generally learn over
their time in the group. Many
members join without knowing how to break music down
into different vocal parts.
â&#x20AC;&#x153;If you had told me when
you joined that I would be ar-

ranging music, I would have
told you that you were nuts,â&#x20AC;?
Milius said. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Not all of our
girls have a lot of background
in music theory. Obviously all
of our girls can pick up notes
and harmony and everything,
but sometimes you donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t have
that perfect choir style, where
everyone can sight read on
solfege on one foot.â&#x20AC;?
Although this sort of work
is a learned skill, it can often be
hard to teach to new members,
who must work hard to develop the skill in their own style.
Although they cannot produce music in a momentâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s
time, the group is constantly
ready to perform.
â&#x20AC;&#x153;The most spontaneous
thing weâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ve done is probably
sing in restaurants,â&#x20AC;? said Jenn
Potter, senior agricultural economics major and Femmatas
public relations officer. â&#x20AC;&#x153;We
like to take field trips to Naked Fish, and every time weâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re
there the owner knows [us]
so heâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ll ask us to sing happy
birthday to someone.â&#x20AC;?
With the advent of all the
new media attention on a
capella, the group has found
increased appreciation for its
music locally.
â&#x20AC;&#x153;I think itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s fun because I
joined before â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;Pitch Perfectâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;
came out,â&#x20AC;? said Tierney Rose,
senior communication major and Femmatas treasurer.
â&#x20AC;&#x153;I knew I liked to sing, but a
capella was kind of foreign to
me. But when â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;Pitch Perfectâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;
came out, everyone was like,
â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;That is so cool.â&#x20AC;&#x2122; I think itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s
fun because itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s really starting
to make this come back.â&#x20AC;?

10/14/13 8:32 PM

news

page 5
tuesday 10.15.2013

thebattalion

Churchill
Continued from page 1

COURTESY

Bonnie Bishop and the “Modern Day Prophets” will perform a concert Thursday to
celebrate the 50th anniversary of the admission of women to A&M.

Continued from page 1

the show.”
Lynn Hagan, Class of 1993 and awards and
events coordinator for the Women’s Former
Student Network, said she has been a long
time fan of Bishop’s music.
“Given her recent awards and prominence
with the media, we thought it would be a great
opportunity to bring her to this,” Hagan said.
Sherrill said he would be in attendance
Thursday evening. He said he was looking
forward to the concert and further seeing how
his daughter has progressed from small gigs to
completely sold out concerts.
“Having an opportunity to watch my
daughter perform — naturally as a parent
you’re awful proud, because it’s not an easy
profession,” Sherrill said. “It’s a very tough
profession to be in.”
Hagan said she thinks Bishop’s strong Texas
roots and connections to A&M made Bishop a
“natural fit” for the closing performance. She
said the music was full of personal stories that
Bishop had written herself.
“All of her music draws from her personal
experience,” Hagan said. “I think that her music resonates with other women. It’s just so
personal. That’s what I have found to be so
drawing to her.”
Bishop described her music genre as rock

and soulful with a “southern tinge.” She said
although her music was “rockin” and something people would be able to enjoy and
dance around to, her messages were deep
and relatable.
“My song writing really takes people on my
own journey and shows places I’ve been vulnerable and lessons I’ve learned,” Bishop said.
“I’m trying to use those lessons to shed some
light for other people on their own hearts and
on their own journey.”
Hagan said she thought the conference
would allow women to reflect on how enrollment was closed to women at Texas A&M for
many years.
“I think it’s really important that we recognize the fact that woman weren’t allowed here
and now we make up well over 50 percent of
the University,” Hagan said.
Hagan said the entire day would be marked
with presentations from Aggie women who
have “achieved a great deal” in their lives after
student life. She described Bishop’s concert as
the culmination of the entire event.
“This is just kind of the crown on top of
everything,” Hagan said.

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SPECIAL

Bishop

Sandys said she started writing about
Churchill 20 years ago. She had not
planned on it, but she found the idea to
be irresistible.
“I went to a cousin’s house for tea and
there was a box on the table with letters from my grandfather’s childhood,”
Sandys said. “I said someone should do
something with them. My cousin said,
‘You do it.’”
Sandys said she plans to speak about her
memories with Churchill and his inspiring leadership when she visits the campus. She was 21 when Churchill died, and
Sandys said she has many memories of her
grandfather and his inspiring traits.
“Two things that inspired me about
my grandfather were his courage and
communication,” Sandys said. “He had
the moral courage to carry on when others denied that his ideas were right. And
if you can’t communicate, you can’t
do anything.”
R.J.Q. Adams, A&M history professor,
said Churchill interests many people because of his long career and involvement in
many events that affected the world in the
20th century.
“My guess is she’s going to talk not just
about Churchill’s career, but also the endurance of the Churchill legend,” Adams
said. “We’re all interested in Churchill.
Even if he had not lived as long as he did,
he would have had a fantastic career.”
Adams said he encouraged people to
attend the event. He has spoken to his
own students about the event, reminding them of the novelty of Sandys’ presentation due to her close relationship
with Churchill.
“Grandparents have a special relationship with their grandkids, which makes
Sandys’ books even more interesting,”
Adams said. “The things she is going to
talk about is the stuff that’s not dealt with

in history books.”
David Vaught, head of the Department of History at A&M, also said
chances to attend an event like this do not
come often.
“My message for students: How many
chances will you get to hear someone
who knew Churchill — a historical figure of immense stature — so very well for
much of her life?” Vaught said. “Do not
pass up this opportunity.”
Students are already expressing interest in the event. Brian Johnson, sophomore history major, said he is excited for
the event due to the history associated
with Churchill.
“Churchill is undoubtedly one of the
more prominent, and most recognized,
figures of the 20th century,” Johnson said.
“The special view of him that a family
member can give is a special thing.”
The event is open to the public and
free, and Adams said he hopes more
people than just A&M students and staff
will attend. He said the uniqueness of this
event is one example of why A&M is a
great University.
“We’re not just great at academics and
sports,” Adams said. “We are also able
to play host to people of this kind. It’s a
wonderful opportunity for undergraduate
students and for the community.”
Backus said Sandys will speak twice
while at A&M, once at 6 p.m. on Oct.
24 at the Annenberg Presidential Conference Center as well as the Oct. 25 event
in Rudder Auditorium that is open to
the public. After her speeches, Backus
said Sandys will attend the football game
against Vanderbilt and will be honored
on the reviewing stand for the Corps of
Cadets march-in.
Sandys said she is excited for her visit
to Texas and the U.S., which she said
Churchill called “his other country,” because his mother was American.
“I am very happy to be coming to
Texas,” Sandys said. “I enjoy Texas and
have always received warm welcomes.”

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SC Town Hall will host
Battle of the Bands at 6
p.m. Friday in Rudder Plaza.
The annual fall event will feature five bands chosen by a
subcommittee of MSC Town
Hall, combining different
genres of music to produce an
entertaining and competitive
experience.
Ian Kettelkamp, junior nutritional sciences major and
special events executive for
Battle of Bands, managed the
band entry applications and
coordinated and planned the
event.
The main requirement for
selection, Kettelkamp said,
was for at least one member
of each band to be an active
student at Texas A&M.
Kettelkamp chose bands
based on their ability to follow instructions, the quality
of their demos and diversity
among competitors.
“Performances will be
based on staying within the
allotted time, smoothness
of performance, stage presence, judge opinions on the
sound and the crowd appeal,”
Kettelkamp said. “[Battle of
the Bands] is important because it gets recognition, it
gets some attention, it gets
[the band’s] name on campus.
More attention becomes more
opportunities.”
“Abby and the Philharmonics,” “Bad Cat,” “The
Lounge,” “Should’ve Been
Cowboys” and “King and
Nation” are the five bands
chosen for the show.
“Bad Cat,” a blend of reggae, funk, hip-hop and punk
rock played last year at the
Battle of the Bands, snagging
second place.
Cameron Schaefer, “Bad
Cat” guitarist and senior biomedical engineering major,
said their sound is unique and
infuses different instruments.
“‘Bad Cat’ originally started
out as a reggae band but kind
of progressed into something a

Battle of the Bands will
be held at 6 p.m. Friday in
Rudder plaza. Admission
is free.

M

little bit more,” Schaefer said.
“It encompasses some other
musical adaptations as well
with a very versatile sound.
Our horn section — it adds
another color to the sound
that you won’t see with your
standard guitar band.”
Cole Breining, senior industrial distribution major and
guitarist and lead vocalist of
“The Lounge,” said his band
offers a blend of indie rock,
classic rock, reggae, jazz and
R&B.
“We have a really diverse
set, I think it’s something
new,” Breining said. “I don’t
think people have heard it before. [The music] is slightly
against the grain. It’s something that will stand out.”
“King and Nation” will
bring to the stage an acoustic
set that band members said is

[Battle
of the
Bands] is
important
because it gets
recognition,
it gets some
attention,
it gets [the
band’s] name
on campus.
More attention
becomes more
opportunities.”

slightly different from normal
rock.
“We like to make sure our
audience has a good time,
to make sure that people are
watching us on stage,” said
Frank Miller, guitarist and junior English major.
Two years ago, “Abby and
The Philharmonics” members
Abby Siezerling, senior international studies and Spanish
major, and Bryant Taylor,
senior marketing major, won
Battle of the Bands with their
former group, “The Jeremiahs.” Battle of the Bands will
be the first live performance
for “Abby and the Philharmonics.”
Schaefer said he thinks his
band has a good chance of
winning.
“I’m kind of biased because
we were the runners-up last
year so I think our chances
are pretty good,” Shaefer said.
“But I haven’t heard any other
bands perform, though, so it’s
anyone’s game.”
Most of the artists were
simply excited to hear other
local bands performing on
campus.
“I’m just really looking
forward to seeing all the other
bands play because I’m sure
they’re all good, so it should
be a lot of fun,” Miller said.
At the end of the day, the
bands really just wanted an opportunity to play their music
and get their name out to students on campus.
“I don’t really care [who
wins],” said Brenton Kim,
senior political science major
and member of “Should’ve
Been Cowboys.” “The money’s really nice, but actually it’s
for publicity. It would be nice
for other students to be like,
‘Oh wow, it’s totally not just
country here.’”
Admission is free for anyone interested in witnessing
the live performances.

— Ian Kettelkamp, special
events executive for
Battle of the Bands

Tomorrow,
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